Species evolve quickly on islands. These “natural laboratories” often offer freedom from predators and competitors, isolation, and new foods and resources. Animals on islands tend to be larger or smaller than their mainland relatives. First described by Foster in 1963, this pattern is so striking that it was dubbed “the island rule” by Leigh van Valen ten years later. Many subsequent studies have investigated, debated, and refined Foster’s rule and related hypotheses explaining the evolution in body size when animals are isolated on islands. In the August 2015 issue of Ecology, Anna Runemark, Kostas...

A key component of advancing earth stewardship involves communicating ecological science to stakeholders outside the ecological community. Continued outreach to policymakers at all levels of government is critical for sustaining investment and...